Look for Eastman Musicians at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival

From renowned drums master and Eastman alumnus Steve Gadd to current Eastman School of Music and Eastman Community Music School students and faculty, many Eastman musicians will be appearing on various stages throughout the 2015 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival (XRIJF). This year the XRIJF will run from Friday, June 19, to Saturday, June 27, and will take place on Eastman stages as well as in various venues that are a short distance from Gibbs St., a.k.a. “Jazz Street” as it is renamed during the Festival. 

Gadd (BM ’68) has performed with acclaimed musicians such as Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, and many others. He will headline a Kodak Hall performance on Friday, June 26, with selections from his new album, 70 Strong, which was released in April of this year. 

For the 14^th straight year in a row, Eastman faculty member Bob Sneider will lead the always-popular jam sessions every night of the festival at the Rochester Plaza State Street Bar & Grill, and will appear with several artists in their performances: singer Nancy Kelly on June 20, Such Sweet Thunder on June 22, and Carl Atkins and Culture Clash on June 27. Sneider will also host the Jazz Workshops for Young Music Students alongside five other festival musicians, and will be the guest performer with the Webster Schroeder High School Jazz Band on June 27. Charles Pillow will be featured with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Bill Dobbins in an all-Billy Strayhorn concert at the annual ESM-XRIJF Scholarships Concert. 

Jazz enthusiasts will be able to hear students, faculty, and alumni each day on various stages:  

Every night: 

10:30 p.m., Bob Sneider Trio, Rochester Plaza State Street Bar & Grill.   

Friday, June 19

5:45 and 7:45 p.m., Bill Dobbins plays Strayhorn, Hatch Recital Hall

6 p.m., Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) Jazz Combo with Bob Sneider and Paul Hofmann, Jazz Street Stage 

Saturday, June 20:

6 p.m., ECMS Jazz Combos with Mike Kaupa, Jazz Street Stage 

Sunday, June 21:

6 p.m., ESM Honors Collegiate Small Group, Jazz Street Stage

6:15 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., Kneebody, Max of Eastman Place 

Monday, June 22:

Noon, Jazz Starts at the Library with Mike Kaupa, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County

1 p.m., Jazz Workshops for Young Music Students hosted by Bob Sneider, Ray Wright Room (ESM 120)6 p.m., ESM Honors Collegiate Small Group, Jazz Street Stage

8 p.m., ESM-XRIJF Scholarships Concert featuring Charles Pillow and the Eastman Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Bill Dobbins, Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre 

Tuesday, June 23:

Noon, Jazz Starts at the Library with Danny Ziemann, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County

1 p.m., Jazz Workshops for Young Music Students hosted by Bob Sneider, Ray Wright Room (ESM 120)

 6 p.m., New Horizons Big Band, Jazz Street Stage7:30 p.m., Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Street Stage

8:30 p.m., New Horizons Vintage Jazz Band, Jazz Street Stage 

Wednesday, June 24:

1 p.m., Jazz Workshops for Young Music Students hosted by Bob Sneider, Ray Wright Room (ESM 120)

6 p.m., ESM-XRIJF Scholarships Alumni, Jazz Street Stage 

Thursday, June 25:

Noon, Jazz Starts at the Library with Doug Stone, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County

1 p.m., Jazz Workshops for Young Music Students hosted by Bob Sneider, Ray Wright Room (ESM 120)

5:45 and 7:45 p.m., Harold Danko, Hatch Recital Hall

6 p.m., ECMS Saxology 1 & 2 directed by Doug Stone, Jazz Street Stage  F

Friday, June 26:

Noon, Jazz Starts at the Library with Mike Melito, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County

1 p.m., Jazz Workshops for Young Music Students hosted by Bob Sneider, Ray Wright Room (ESM 120)

6 p.m., ECMS Latin Jazz & JR Jazz, Jazz Street Stage

8 p.m., Steve Gadd Band– 70 Strong, Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre

Saturday, June 27:

3 p.m., Bill Tiberio Band, East Ave. and Chestnut Street Stage

6 p.m., ESM Honors Collegiate Small Group, Jazz Street Stage

6:15 and 10 p.m., Katie Ernst “Little Words”, Max of Eastman Place

The full schedule of performers and venues can be found at www.rochesterjazz.com.

 

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